Law Office ofAli Barakat
Applications before the Political Prisoners and Martyrs foundations

Privileges of a martyr's family according to the kinship ties in the text

In briefArticle 1 defines a martyr's family as the parents and children, the spouse and wives, brothers and sisters, and the sons' and daughters' children — not a scale of 'first to fourth degree'. Some privileges are for covered persons generally; some shares and allocations distinguish parents, the widow, the children and the siblings, as in Articles 12 and 13.

Martyrs Foundation Law No. 2 of 2016, as amended, does not set out a table under those four headings. Article 1 lists the martyr's family by particular ties. Later articles then distinguish, in salary shares and in the allocation of land, between the parents, the widow, the children and the siblings. A reader who takes “first degree” to mean the parents, the children and the spouse is close to everyday usage, but the text of Article 1 governs, not that scale, if the scale is not in the law.

Who is a martyr, and who counts as family, is explained in Who is a martyr and who are the family. The detail on study is in Education privileges, appointment in Appointment of a martyr's family, and land in A plot of land and a housing unit.

Who falls within the definition of the family?

Article 1(2) treats as the martyr's family:

  • the parents and the children;
  • the spouse and the wives, even if they are not Iraqi;
  • brothers and sisters;
  • the sons' and daughters' children.

A person who does not fall within those ties is not a member of the martyr's family for the purposes of this law, even if everyday speech calls them “third” or “fourth degree”. The converse is also true: brothers and sisters, and the sons' and daughters' children, are named expressly, and are not excluded merely because some speakers confine “first degree” to the parents, the children and the spouse.

Privileges are those written in the text for the degree it names. If a later set of instructions adds an administrative detail, it is read with the law, and is attributed to the law only where it matches the law.

Where does the text distinguish among beneficiaries?

Article 12 distributes the pension salary: parents who are not employees, and the widow who is not an employee and is not remarried, receive two shares against the share of each of the sons and daughters. If the widow is not remarried, has no children by the martyr, and the parents are deceased, she receives half and the brothers and sisters receive half. If both parents of an unmarried martyr have died, the rights pass to the brothers and sisters. If there is more than one wife, each wife and the beneficiaries among her children enjoy the rights of a single wife.

Article 13 allocates a housing unit or a plot of land, with the real-estate grant, to the parents, to the widow and the children, and to the full siblings of an unmarried martyr whose parents are deceased, or to the half-siblings if there are no full siblings. The allocation is not “to every relative” in the same measure.

On the salary, payment continues after the combining period for the parents and the widow, for some children and siblings with special needs, and for unmarried daughters and sisters who are not employed, under Article 11. That is continuity of an existing entitlement, not the creation of a new degree.

How is this distinction used in practice?

When applying, or when objecting to the distribution of the salary or the land, the first question is whether the claimant is among those named in Article 1, and then which special rule applies to that relationship. Confusing “all family members are equal in every privilege” with “some allocations are limited to a particular relationship” explains much of the disagreement within a single family. Keep the legal inheritance deed (qisam shar‘i), the coverage decision and any statement of marital or employment status, because they affect shares and continuation under Articles 11 and 12.

Legal basis and sources

  1. Martyrs Foundation Law No. 2 of 2016 — Articles 1, 11, 12 and 13
  2. First Amendment Law No. 23 of 2024

Frequently asked questions

What are the privileges of a martyr's family of the first degree?

If the parents, the children and the spouse are meant, they have a clear place in the Article 1 definition and in the salary shares and land allocation. The phrase itself is not the heading of an article in the law.

Is there a special privilege for the second or third degree?

The law does not use those headings. The question is whether the tie falls within Article 1, and then what the salary or land rule is for that tie.

Are brothers and sisters members of the family?

Yes, under Article 1. Some rights pass to them in cases the text sets out, such as an unmarried martyr after the parents have died.

Is a non-Iraqi widow a member of the family?

Yes. Article 1 refers to the spouse and the wives even if they are not Iraqi.

Always check the text in force and its amendments in the official source.

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